What you are talking about is basically why I would not consider buying anything with the letters "BEHRINGER" on it (IMHO only, of course).
I had to delete the first attachments as arguments for this quote.
I reattached them again.
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https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/the...blowtorch-preamplifier-iii-2.html#post5344651
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OK - you have dug up stuff I did not know about 😉
However, my point is just because a group starts out making bad quality products does not mean they will do that forever and Germany is a case in point.
However, my point is just because a group starts out making bad quality products does not mean they will do that forever and Germany is a case in point.
Philips had the largest patent portfolio in the world in c. 2000 bar none, most of that driven by the Nat lab.
A whole bunch of that went when they hived off the semi division so they lost their top ranking.
There was plenty to defend, and given some of the stuff that happened between them and the competition - and their customers - that I was party to, they defended it when it made sense.
If people are worried about IP theft (and rightfully so), then they should also be worried about the level of patent trolling that goes on in developed economies.
Protecting IP will get more difficult because the world is filling up with super smart people that find clever ways of getting around things. Or, they just take it if the legal framework allows them too.
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Patent trolls are definitely a big problem. Software patents are a nightmare. There are so many patents that should never have been granted. I'd actually be in favor of abolishing all software patents.
It's just that they get under the same act with artist's intellectual right...
Dreamth, you have found the ultimate preamp for you. Lots of electrolytic caps, IC, etc. You can, of course, change your IC, if you think the AD712 unsuitable. You should ask Scott Wurcer first, however, since he designed it.
For the record, this design was an early Parasound from 25+ years ago, that I did NOT design, and I claim nothing about it, except that I, at the time, recommended the AD712 as one of the finest Fet input IC's that I knew of, knowing that my good friend, Scott Wurcer had designed it to a higher standard than the Natl LF412.
For the record, this design was an early Parasound from 25+ years ago, that I did NOT design, and I claim nothing about it, except that I, at the time, recommended the AD712 as one of the finest Fet input IC's that I knew of, knowing that my good friend, Scott Wurcer had designed it to a higher standard than the Natl LF412.
Rick, I am very glad I bought each of these pieces of Chinese gear
So true, but still, so 20th century...
Don't get me wrong, I dearly love the 20th century, but we have to move on and go beyond. This documentary on Shenzhen transformed my perception of IP; it's alright not to watch all of it, just go straight to 31:20 for a summary.
I watched 2 minutes and stopped shortly before vomiting. I can’t imagine somebody in the 21st century not understanding the delta between years of R&D, promoting a brand, a product, marketing, etc... and somebody pirating your work and sucking out your hard work, supported and encouraged by its own govt. And then having the nerve to theoretize about patents and IP as being outdated concepts.
Did it even occur to you that the (indeed outrageous) prices of the Apple devices have a significant component for covering the losses (that is, lost sales) due to fake products on the markets? Not to mention you don’t seem to hold any significant Apple stock; some Apple stock in your portfolio may significantly change your views about the Apple profit margins.
But then I am a capitalist, IMMV.
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Indeed, i wasn't such a genius so that i'd be able to add a capacitor in front of a fet preamp.
I'll take notice though !
Did you choose Scott's ic so that you won't give any satisfaction to Doug Self about ne5534?
I wonder what was the price at the time for 1 x ad712 compared with 2 x j-fets and 1 njm2068 or njm 2043...
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Do you see anything suspicious?
Well , njm2068 is a bipolar design ic, usually it needed a capacitor at the input .
m5220 was made for phono preamps, it was available 25 years ago and in fact it was so good hat they used it as i/v stages and as cassette tapehead preamps with no input capacitor...although it was bipolar input.
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Are we talking violation of patents or theft of IP, by that I mean something that involves criminal trespass, violation of NDA's or other illegal means, or simple reverse engineering and cloning?
They directly copied other manufacturers designs, built them in China, claimed the designs as their own, and put the small guys out of business. Mackie was big enough to survive. Direct copying of panel layouts and PCB layouts, etc., probably copyright infringement. Somehow, they never seemed to get sued over it. The little guys couldn't afford to fight them, and the big guys must have thought it not worth the expense.
They were disgustingly blatant at it.
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Well if you can tell me who the original design of the DEQ2496 was from I'll buy one from them!
Were? I don't hear that anything has changed from the Pro guys. I am willing to stand corrected...
Right, doesn't everybody
I understand your disdain but these things have very strict rules to be actionable, simple re-routing a few traces or changing fonts could be enough.
Regrettably, morals are no match against the profit motive - no matter what your background.
However, products that require the interlinking of specialized knowledge from different fields e.g. chemical engineering, solid state physics, electrical design and end applications knowledge as is the case in semiconductors, are much harder to copy. You get one of the core things wrong and the whole thing quickly falls apart.
The Chinese have come along in leaps and bounds in semi's, but they still lack the advanced processes (digital, analog and mixed signal) available in the West and in Taiwan. They ran a special program as part of one of their recent 5 year plans to try to get hold of, or build, the necessary IP - I left in 2015, so I don't know how that turned out.
The USSR had the same thing going on with US technology in the 60's and 70's - I watched a show about a facility in Latvia(?) where they specialized in high performance 'scopes - all miraculously similar to Tektronix.
However, products that require the interlinking of specialized knowledge from different fields e.g. chemical engineering, solid state physics, electrical design and end applications knowledge as is the case in semiconductors, are much harder to copy. You get one of the core things wrong and the whole thing quickly falls apart.
The Chinese have come along in leaps and bounds in semi's, but they still lack the advanced processes (digital, analog and mixed signal) available in the West and in Taiwan. They ran a special program as part of one of their recent 5 year plans to try to get hold of, or build, the necessary IP - I left in 2015, so I don't know how that turned out.
The USSR had the same thing going on with US technology in the 60's and 70's - I watched a show about a facility in Latvia(?) where they specialized in high performance 'scopes - all miraculously similar to Tektronix.
Me too!
No, I don't hold any Apple stock, and I never will. I use a Xiaomi phone and I highly recommend it over any Apple or Samsung. I do own stock from Microsoft, a company who's even more dependent on IP because it's all they have, and yet they're smart enough to open source some part of their commercial products when it makes sense. They're doing fine now that they're run by an engineer, instead of an accountant.
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